Eyes of the Devil
Chapter 2
A talk in the forest and unwanted guests
"My… my name…" Sakura stuttered.
"Of course; you know mine. I want to know yours." He said. His voice was still soft and soothing. It sent shivers up Sakura's spine.
"It's… its Sakura… Sakura Haruno." She said. Takashi laughed softly. "What's so funny?" Sakura said loudly.
"Nothing; it's just ironic that here, amidst the beauty of the blossoming trees, I meet an equally beautiful girl that shares the name." He said.
Sakura blushed. He chuckled.
"Uh… thank you… I guess…"
"So… Guessing by the head band you're from the village, and from your features you're about sixteen or seventeen, probably a chunin."
Sakura's jaw dropped. How could he know all that?
"How did…"
Takashi smiled softly.
"When you've seen and been through the things I have, such talents are needed." He said; the sadness showing clearly through his soft tone. He gave a weary smile and stood, sighing.
"Um… I know about you…" Sakura said.
"Obviously, you knew my name before I could introduce myself." Takashi said as he plopped down on the grass where he was before.
"No… I mean… I know about the war."
Takashi visibly tensed.
"Many people know of my past. But the past is the past, so let's let it rest…" He said, his head bowed, his bangs hiding his eyes.
"I'm sorry… I should've known better…" Sakura said. She'd forgotten he wasn't Sasuke. They looked so much alike.
"You know Sasuke, right?" he asked. It was Sakura's turn to tense. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to… It's not my place to be prying into his life…" Takashi said. "Especially after I abandoned him…" he added quietly.
"Sasuke was on my team… I loved him…"
Takashi looked up. Sakura's eyes were sparkling with tears. He reached up and wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumb.
"Please don't cry… I've brought you such great sadness…" he said softly.
"What?" she said.
"If I had been here I could've stopped them from taking him. That's the third time I've failed my little brother." Takashi said quietly.
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said anything… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." She said.
"Hmm. Don't worry, those you brought up was some of my best." He said with a weak smile.
"Well, why don't you tell me about yourself, seeing as you already know everything about me?" He said with a smile.
"Well, I'm sixteen, as you guessed. My birthday was three days ago. I'm the medical shinobi for my team; which consists of Naruto Uzamaki, Kakashi Hatake, and me." She said in a happier tone.
"Did you Say Kakashi Hatake? That pervert is on your team? Man, I'm sorry for you." He said.
"You know Kakashi?"
"Yeah, we were on the Anbu black ops together back in the day." He said. "I helped him with his chidori."
"Really?" Sakura said loudly. Her ex-sensei had told her that he'd invented the technique on his own. He had told everyone that.
"Yeah; I watched using the Sharingan to give him a second opinion on how the technique was progressing. Anyway, please continue." He said.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing. They talked mostly about Sakura's life. He laughed when she told him about the disaster prone Naruto, and smiled when she told about Sasuke's and Naruto's endless rivalry.
Midday came and went, leading into the cool evening. As the sky began to grow dark, Takashi stood. He extended a hand and helped her up.
"You should be getting home, Sakura-chan. This is a dangerous place at night." He said. She nodded and removed his cloak, handing it back to him.
"Thanks for letting me use it. I know you were cold too." She said.
"It's no problem. I'd rather be cold than let someone else suffer."
Sakura blushed. She'd being doing it quite frequently.
Takashi's mind was in turmoil. Why did she have this effect on him? She made him feel… happy.
He couldn't help but let his eyes wander her curves when she wasn't looking. She was so damn sexy, even when she wasn't trying to be.
He was absorbed by those pale green eyes.
Takashi had to stifle a groan as she walked away. He watched the swing of her hips and her killer ass.
"Good night, Takashi-sama!" she called over her shoulder.
"Wait!" It had escaped his mouth before he could stop it.
"What is it?" Sakura said; a puzzled look played across her face.
"God she's cute." Takashi thought inwardly. "I just wanted you to know; if you need anything, I'm gonna be here for a week or two."
"Here? You mean your staying here?" She said, pointing to the clearing.
"Hai."
"You can't be serious?" Sakura said loudly.
"Uh… yeah… I don't have a home." He said.
"Oh… I forgot… I'm sorry!" she said hurriedly.
"It's all right. But you should really be going now." Takashi said with that soft smile.
"Good night."
"Night."
For the next week, Sakura went to see him whenever she could. She felt as if there was this mysterious, primal force pulling her to the shinobi.
They spent most of the time talking. Every now and then Sakura came up on him training. For some reason, he never drew his sword when he trained, and only practiced taijutsu.
Even so, Sakura loved to watch. He was always sweating when he finished, but she didn't mind. He always took his shirt off and Sakura loved to watch his sweat bead down his thin, muscular frame.
Today, Sakura was going to go spend her day off with the Uchiha.
"Takashi-sama!" she called as she entered the clearing. He was sitting in his usual place under the tree.
"I told you that don't have to call me by the honorific name." he said, looking up from the book he was reading. He noticed the large bundle in Sakura's hand. "What do you have there?"
"Um… I brought us lunch, Takashi-kun!" She said, holding up the package, grinning.
The evening sun was sinking slowly behind the clouds as Takashi walked Sakura back out to the path.
"I had fun today, Takashi-kun." Sakura said blushing.
"I don't know how, all we did was talk." He said. His cloak was wrapped around him. Sakura had her own dark blue cloak covering her.
"It's nice to have someone who's always there to listen." She said, smiling.
God… Takashi was doing everything he could to keep from throwing her down and ravaging her. She was so pure, yet so incredibly sexy at the same time. It was hard for Takashi to believe, but he was falling for the young Haruno.
"Well, I should get going." Sakura said and turned to leave. She was stopped when a strong hand grasped her arm.
She turned.
"What is…?"
Takashi's eyes were different. They weren't the soft grey they usually were. They were solid onyx, bright enough to shine in the dim light.
"Taka…"
He pulled her close. His strong arms wrapped around her slim frame. It frightened her, but felt like heaven at the same time. He was holding her the way she'd only daydreamed about the past few days.
His face was coming close to hers. His leaned in close, so close she felt his breath on her ear, and the he spoke.
"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" he asked. His voice was rougher, and less gentle than it normally was. This made goose bumps erupt over her skin. Sakura felt heat. The heat of Takashi's breathing on her cheek, the feel of his lips grazing skin. She tilted her head, allowing their lips to connect.
Sakura moaned into the kiss as Takashi growled. Sakura was on fire. So was Takashi.
As suddenly as it began, it was over. Takashi retreated, stumbling into a tree, his chest heaving as he attempted to catch what breath he had.
"Takashi…" she said weakly.
"I'm… I'm sorry… you should go…" He heaved. His hands were gripping the tree, digging into the bark. "Take control… Take back control…" he thought fiercely.
"But… Takashi-kun… you don't know how much… how much I wanted that…" Sakura said. She moved towards him.
"NO!" he shouted. His voice was still same tone as before, but his old self was starting to come back.
Sakura shrank back.
"Sakura… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that…" He whispered. His grip had relaxed on the tree and he'd stood straight now. His face was shadowed by the evening light.
"Why not?" Sakura asked, hurt evident in her voice. "I know you're attracted to me. I've seen the way you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention… and… to tell you the truth… I feel the same for you… Takashi-kun."
That last bit had made Sakura blush madly.
"Sakura… I'm not a good person to get involved with…" He said. His gaze turned away. He couldn't bear to look at her, for fear of hurting her further. He finally brought himself to look at her. "It's… it's just that…" he said weakly. "Everyone I've ever gotten close to has gotten hurt or killed because of it… I would die if anything were to happen to you." He whispered.
He looked up, and she was gone.
Takashi bowed his head in shame… it was for the best…
Sakura couldn't take what he had said. Tears streaked down her face as she glided aimlessly through the trees.
"WHY? WHY IS IT EVERYTIME I THINK I HAVE FEELINGS FOR SOMEONE I END UP GETTING MY HEART BROKEN?" she yelled aloud, not caring who heard her.
She tripped and fell from the trees, slamming to the ground and rolling until her back-slammed into tree. Tears streaked down her face.
Rushing air… that was all she heard. Next thing she knew, her arms were pinned above her head, held tight by razor wire.
"Well what do we have here?"
"Doesn't she know the woods are dangerous at night?"
"Look at her headband. She's a shinobi. Damn right she should know better."
Two men emerged from the shadows. Both carried swords, and one was smaller than the other. Sakura sensed another man behind the tree, holding the wire tight.
At least five more men appeared all carrying swords of staffs.
"Look at the poor thing, she's crying."
"What do you say we make her feel better?"
The thugs laughed loudly.
Sakura knew she could easily have torn rope, but her bonds were razor wire. It was already digging into her skin and if she struggled she'd have her wrists cut for sure. Her eyes grew wide. The man behind the tree was using some kind of jutsu that was draining her chakra into the wire, making them stronger while weakening her.
"Oh my god… I might not be able to escape!" She thought. Her mind raced while her body maintained a stiffened, emotionless appearance. But she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes. The pale green orbs betrayed her emotions.
"So? Where should we start?" The one closest to her said. He moved forward; holding the tip of his blade at her cloak's fastening.
"She could show a bit more skin boss."
They laughed as he cut the fabric of her cloak.
Sakura was terrified now. She didn't have enough chakra to escape.
She was woken from her spell as the man ripped of her blue cover shirt, leaving the black t-shirt torn down to reveal her cleavage and black sports bra (she's a fighter, after all).
She screamed at the sound of more fabric tearing and the feeling of cold on her exposed torso.
"That's right, scream for me baby."
He moved the tip along her collarbone, watching with sadistic joy as blood trickled from the wound. Sakura was crying hard and struggling for dear life. She felt the wire tearing through her gloves and skin. Blood, hot and wet, seeped down her arms. She screamed for help. She cried out as he slapped her. Once, twice, three times. Then he punched her in the stomach so hard she coughed up blood.
"Shut up, bitch."
He used his sword to cut away her pants and boots, leaving her in black bra and panties, almost completely exposed to their invasive stares.
"Now." He said, kneeling down in front of her. "Such a luscious little beauty; it's almost too bad we have to defile you. Almost."
He laughed and reached forward, grouping her, squeezing her breast so hard she cried out. He smacked her again.
"Shut up bitch!" he yelled.
Dear god… they were really going to rape her… and no one knew she was here.
"Please…" she thought. "Somebody help me…"
The man laughed at the terror in her eyes.
"Now then."
His hand dipped down and roughly cupped Sakura's sex.
"TAKASHI!!"
Takashi knew something was wrong. He'd sensed it almost a minute after she left.
He'd been looking for her, but her trail dropped off suddenly. It was then he heard something that made his blood run cold. She was screaming.
"Oh god… What've I done?!" He thought as he took off with inhuman speed towards the screaming.
His heart stopped. She'd screamed for him. His eyes bled silver.
Whoever was making her scream, were going to die!
Sakura was screaming his name. Despite being slapped and punched; kicked and cut. She needed him. God, please let him come.
The man had already cut her bra away and was in the process of ripping of her panties when everything seemed to freeze.
A presence, so ominous it froze the blood in their veins, had just appeared. The men looked on in horror, as did Sakura, as the presence took the form of a man.
He was walking, slowly, ominously towards them. His body shook with rage, a hand tightly gripping the sword on his side, cloak billowing in the wind.
Bright silver eyes shined at them; eyes so terrible that they were paralyzed by the sheer power emanating from him; power and pure rage.
"Filth, take your hands from her." He growled.
"Jesus Christ… it's Takashi!" she thought, terror gripping her body.
"It's none… of y-your business… Go away!"
"Fool. You're all dead."
A blast of icy wind swept through and at a speed beyond what Sakura could see, he moved through the men, easily slicing them all down.
He slid to a halt in front of her, blood raining down on them from the mangled bodies of her attackers.
He looked at her, his eyes molten silver, and she screamed. She did her best to escape, but to no avail. She opened her eyes to find him bent down on one knee in front of her. He was fumbling with something…
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!" she screamed.
She was in utter shock as she felt his cloak being draped over her bare body.
"I would never harm you, Sakura." He said. His tone was still harsh and murderous, but it seemed to quell some of the fear in her. Just some mind you.
He stood to release her when the man that had held the wire dove out at them. Takashi grabbed his sword and with god-like speed drew his blade, slicing through his blade like it was butter.
The tree slid down diagonally, crashing down beside Sakura as the man's head fell a few feet away. More dark crimson liquid spilled down onto them and Sakura screamed.
She felt her hands being freed and moved to run, but Takashi had merely used his superior strength to lift her, caring her in an almost bridal fashion. She struggled until she looked up at his face. His expression was one of worry; it was soft again. She watched in utter amazement as the silver faded back to grey, and the ominous presence he kept disappeared.
He looked at her.
"Are you all right?"